Leave it to an Aussie to play an American revolutionary hero during the War for Independence. According to “The Patriot”, Mel Gibson’s character might have single-handedly defeated the Redcoats. The Brits were pretty much evil bastards in this one, though director Roland Emmerich (a German!) did his best to introduce a slightly less-evil British commander to even things out. Still, when you had Brits burning American colonists alive in churches, shooting kids, and the colonists themselves being incredibly (re: impossibly) progressive towards black Americans in the film, you knew you were dealing with a film that was catering to the unwashed American heartland. Note: “Independence Day”, another Emmerich film was in contention, but I decided against it on the sole reason that that film just keeps sucking the more times I see it, whereas “The Patriot” still holds up pretty well. It must be the muskets.